A pragmatic Saiful wants to give maximum exposure to the Malaysian junior team

In his first stint as the head coach of the Malaysian National junior men’s hockey team, Nor Saiful Zaini is pragmatic of his team’s chances in the MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup, which commenced here on Thursday, and the FIH junior men’s World Cup to be held in Chennai and Madurai from November 28 to December 10.

“We don’t have any high hopes. Ours is an inexperienced and young bunch. It will be great if we make it to the knock-out stages of the MCC-Murugappa tournament, and I will be delighted if we maintain the 12th place finish that we did in the previous edition of the World Cup in 2023,” Saiful told The Hindu here.

According to Saiful, the National team is running out of time. Since taking over in May this year, the 59-year-old has been keen to give maximum exposure and make it the best possible team.

“Before coming here, we had three months of strong preparation, playing against a top division club in Liaoning (China), coached by South Korea’s top coach Kim Sang-ryul, at Dalian City. After Murugappa, we are going to Perth and will also compete in the Sultan of Johor Cup (from Oct. 10 to 18 at Johor Baru). And then may be train again in China,” said the three-time Olympian.

Playing against senior players in the MCC-Murugappa Gold Cup will not be easy, said Saiful, but expressed confidence that his boys will put up a fight.

Placed in Pool-E with the Netherlands, England and Austria in the FIH junior men’s World Cup, Malaysia will find it tough and Saiful admitted it as much.

“England and the Dutch are very strong teams. And some of the number two teams from other groups are also quite strong. We still try to finish 12th. We don’t want to finish behind 16. It is going to be tough all the way, but I want my players to play modern hockey That’s my philosophy,” he said.

Having assisted other coaches of the Malaysian National junior team from 2016-20, Saiful knows what ails the game in his country. “We need time to build the team and require more exposure tours. In my six months (before the FIH junior men’s World Cup), I can’t do wonders. I want my boys to play their best,” he said.